A National Problem on our Public Streets

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla., Feb. 18, 2016 — (PRNewswire)
— The tragic electrocutions this week of two dogs, one
while walking on a public sidewalk in a Chicago suburb and the other in Washington DC, represent the most extreme
examples of what can happen when electrical faults, called contact
voltage, are not actively looked for or are ignored.

"Contact voltage is the presence of electricity on any
publically accessible object." according to Mark Voigtsberger, President of Utility Testing
and Geographic Information Systems (UT/GIS, UTGIS) "These incidents
in Chicago and DC could have
easily killed a toddler or an adult." Initial news reports
quote both dog owners as being shocked themselves as they attempted
to rescue their pets.

Contact voltage is often called stray voltage. Stray
voltage is a unique condition applicable only to the agriculture
industries. Contact voltage more often than not is a result
of some internal or external wiring problem and at a much higher
electrical potential than stray voltage.

"2016 already has a number of reported contact voltage events,"
said Voigtsberger. "They come in from across North America and most are found on our city
streets." So far this winter: